Finding a Vet

[tcmeowmixtc]

Hi everyone,

I was curious if you have tips on finding the right vet for a diabetic cat. My current vet didn't change his diet (never even mentioned it), had him come in for blood glucose tests every week and upped the insulin 1 unit each week. They also said home-testing wasn't possible.

I want to get advice on diet with exact measurements and how often to feed, and I want a vet that will work with me on home-testing. Do I just call around and ask them what they are willing to do? Do I have my old vet send his records to a new vet? I'm in San Diego East County if by random chance someone from there reads this.

Any advice about vets is helpful!

 

[Squalliesmom]

Yes, call around and see if you can do a phone interview when the vet is not busy; have him/her call you. Tell him your position on home testing, doing curves at home, feeding a low-carb, canned diet (and why), and not wanting to adjust dosing by whole units as you don't want to by-pass the one that will work for your cat. Tell him your last vet won't support you in these areas, and ask if he can. Once you find a vet, go in with your cat for a "meet-and-greet" before you finalize the move. If all goes well, then ask your old vet to send all records to the new vet (my old vet dug her heels in on releasing the records-if this happens, have the new vet contact him and request them).

 

[Amanda and a Loudogg]

I definitely agree with Squalliesmom. I have found a lot of helpful links on the Health Links/ FAQs about Feline Diabetes forum. If you want something in list format, there's a thread called Vet Interview Topics that includes the link to a great list of items you might want to ask a vet about. The link is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BqrojKe9oBVAoexL59pUWidEd7viNmxSqW5l2IBTWjY/edit, but I wanted you to know the path in case the direct link above doesn't work.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

What I did was call around and ask whoever answered the phone to have the vet call me (usually it's going to be after office hours)

When I talked to the vet, I asked them how they treated their diabetic cats....questions like:

What kind of food do you recommend?
Do you have a preferred insulin? Which one? Have you tried others?
Do you support home testing? If so, how do you feel about using human meters?...or do you require the use of a pet only meter?
Will you accept blood results taken in the last 30-60 days from another vet or will you want to repeat them?
Have you had cats go into remission?

When you get the answers, you'll have a short list of people you might want to consider further.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

I want to get advice on diet with exact measurements and how often to feed, and I want a vet that will work with me on home-testing. Do I just call around and ask them what they are willing to do? Do I have my old vet send his records to a new vet? I'm in San Diego East County if by random chance someone from there reads this.

Any advice about vets is helpful!

I hope you are able to find a Vet who will be on your team as opposed to being on the opposition. I had the same issue with my boy's diagnosis so after 2 Vets, I stood up for my boy and continued doing things how I wanted with the help of this forum. I knew I needed a Vet for any other issues so when he had his first pancreatitis flare up, I just had to go to a new clinic I was researching. A new doctor had joined that I didn't know about (they're listed on their website) and after an hour I knew we had a new Vet. I really do hope you find one you can "click" with as well! It is a great feeling knowing your Vet supports what you want to do, especially when you're willing to do so may extra steps in caring for your sugar baby